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The official home page of the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ), an Anglo-Australian collaboration surveying 740 square degrees of high-galactic lattiude sky. It will contain more than 25 000 z<3 QSOs, making it far the largest QSO survey in existence. This web page describes the survey objectives, current status and will be the primary site for public access to the data when the survey is complete.
Aladin is an interactive sky atlas, developed at CDS (Strasbourg, France), allowing the user to visualize digitized images of any part of the sky, to superimpose entries from astronomical catalogs or personal user data files, and to interactively access related data and information from the Simbad, NED, and Vizier databases for all known objects in the field.
The set of sky images consists of the STScI Digital Sky Survey (DSS-I and DSS-II), as well as an ensemble of higher resolution images (ESO-R and SERC plates) digitized at the MAMA facility in Paris.
The great number of sites with information about astronomical objects makes it very difficult for astronomers to find out where there might be information of interest to their research. Astrobrowse is an effort to use modern Web techology to enable astronomers (and the public) to query many sites easily.
Other Astrobrowse servers:
CADC ServicesThe CADC tools package includes: starcat - STARCAT is a tool for accessing the HST Archive, CFHT and ESO archives. xhot - X tool which displays the planned activities of the Hubble Space Telescope. It allows you to find out what the telescope is currently observing simbad - The new SIMBAD tool now runs on your workstation. xmgr - This very nice interactive plotting package is now used for the Preview system whitin STARCAT. You will be amazed by its capabilities. Data display could be FFT'd, fitted, zoomed, printed, etc...
CDS Service for Astronomical Catalogues
This on-line service, provided by the CDS, Strasbourg, gives access to several thousand astronomical data catalogues and tables. The VizieR catalog browser provides additional search functionalities for a large fraction of these catalogues.
Catalog of Infrared Observations
The Catalog of Infrared Observations is a database of over 200,000 published infrared observations of more than 10,000 individual astronomical sources over the wavelength range from 1 to 1000 microns. The catalog is available for downloading via ftp.
The Digital Sky Project: Federating the Multi-Wavelength Sky Surveys.
Digitized Palomar Observatory Sky
DPOSS is a program to photograph and catalog the entire Northern Sky.
ESO Slice Project: A Galaxy Redshift Survey in the South Galactic Pole Region
Official Page of the ESO Slice Project. People can already get useful information. The final data will be available directly from this page.
Extreme UltraViolet Explorer (EUVE) Archive
A copy of the EUVE Final Archive is at HEASARC for the service of the community of high-enregy astrophysicists.
Nasa Extragalactic Database (NED)
The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) performed spectrophotometry at high (0.1-0.3 Å) and low (6-7 Å) resolution between 1150 Å and 3200 Å.
Over 104,000 ultraviolet spectra were obtained with IUE between January 26, 1978, and September 30, 1996.
This is part of the Multimission Archive at STScI.SkyCat is a tool developed at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) that combines visualization of images and access to catalogs and archive data for astronomy.
Catalog Search
images of any part of the sky from Radio to Gamma Rays
The HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale Official HomePage
The ASCA Data Facility, part of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Astrophysics Data Facility , is responsible for processing low level ASCA data into standard formatted products, distributing ASCA data to American and European Primary (PI) and Guest (GI) investigators, and populating the final ASCA public data archive.
The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) will be installed in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during a Space Shuttle mission scheduled in 2000. ACS will increase the discovery efficiency of the HST by a factor of ten. ACS will consist of three electronic cameras and a complement of filters and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet at 1200 angstroms to the near infrared at 10,000 angstroms.
Balloon-borne Observations Of Millimetric Extragalactic Radiation ANd Geophysics (BOOMERanG)
BOOMERANG is an instrument designed to measure anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.
Chandra X-ray Observatory (AXAF) - Science Center (ASC)
The Chandra (AXAF) Science Center is located at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The purpose of the ASC is to provide the support required by the science community to realize fully the potential of the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The Constellation X-ray Mission (formerly HTXS) is a Next Generation X-ray Observatory dedicated to observations at high spectral resolution, providing as much as a factor of 100 increase in sensitivity over currently planned high resolution X-ray spectroscopy missions.
Darwin is a proposal for a European infrared interferometer in space. Its first aim is to detect Earth-like planets around nearby stars, and then to search for a signature of life, ozone in an atmosphere. It could also be used as a general-purpose infrared observatory.
Darwin was proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) for a Cornerstone Mission in its Horizon 2000 Plus plan. In October 1995, ESA decided to study such an infrared interferometer as an option for its Interferometer Cornerstone. The Darwin and Edison teams have combined to promote the selection by ESA of this option. The Darwin advocacy team members are also members of the International Working Group on Space Interferometry , a pressure group for this type of mission. Final selection on cost, science and technology grounds will be made around 2000, for a launch in the period 2009 - 2017.Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) -
Information on the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, a satellite astronomy project based at The Johns Hopkins University
Full-sky Astrometric Mapping Explorer (FAME)
FAME is an astrometric satellite designed to determine with unprecedented accuracy the positions, distances, and motions of 40 million stars within our galactic neighborhood. It is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) and several other institutions. FAME will measure stellar positions to less than 50 microarcseconds. It is a NASA MIDEX mission scheduled for launch in 2004.
Gloabal Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA)
GAIA is a preliminary concept for a second space astrometry mission (after HIPPARCOS), recently recommended within the context of ESA's Horizon 2000 Plus long-term scientific programme. It is aimed at the broadest possible astrophysical exploitation of optical interferometry using a modest baseline length.
Hipparcos space astrometry mission: Professionals, amateurs, and educators in astronomer should be interested in the (updated) Hipparcos astrometry mission www page, maintained by ESA. The monumental Hipparcos and Tycho star catalogues, with stellar positions, distances, and proper motions, double star data, and photometry (including thousands of light curves) was completed in June 1997. The 17-volume publication (including 6 ASCII CD-ROMs) can be ordered via the www page; the main catalogues can also be searched on-line, by object or sky region, with hyperlinks to the principal annexes. An "Educational Page" offers some ideas for observational projects for amateurs or for student projects, with the facility to search for the periods of variable stars interactively.
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Infra-Red Telescope Facility (IRTF)
The IRTF is a 3.0 meter telescope optimized for use in the infrared. It was first built to support the Voyager missions to Jupiter. It is now the National facility for infrared astronomy providing continued support to planetary and deep space applications.
Also contains an Anonymous FTP site: Manuals, Forms, Instrument information, Software tools.Kitt Peak Observing Information (KPNO)
Palomar 200 inch Hale Telescope
Planck is the third Medium-Sized Mission (M3) of ESA's Horizon 2000 Scientific Programme. It is designed to image the anisotropies of the Cosmic Background Radiation Field over the whole sky, with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. Planck will provide a major source of information relevant to several cosmological and astrophysical issues, such as testing theories of the early universe and the origin of cosmic structure.
Planck was formerly called COBRAS/SAMBA. After the mission was selected and approved, it was renamed in honor of the German scientist Max Planck (1858-1947), Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918.
Astronomy.com is produced by the publishers of the world's best selling English magazine of the same name. Like its sister publication, Astronomy magazine, Astronomy.com offers visitors a wide variety of information for both hobbyist and armchair astronomers alike.
Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service
astro-ph, preprint list
The astronomical information service ASTRONET provides information on astronomical phenomena and closely follows the news on astronomy, space research, space flight, meteorology and earth sciences. ASTRONET is frequently updated.
Accretion Disk - An Astronomy Internet Directory
The Accretion Disk is a directory of Astronomy links for use by amateur astronomers world-wide.
This web page contains several maps of the universe, each one approximately ten times the scale of the previous one. The first map shows the nearest stars and then the other maps expand out until we reach the scale of the entire visible universe.
Amazing Space is a set of web-based activities primarily designed for classroom use, but made available for all to enjoy.
- A collection of pointers to resources related to teaching/learning Astronomy. Includes pointers to courses, multimedia documents, image catalogs, history, and others.
This site contents a list of links to on-line books in various formats, concerning astronomy, archeoastronomy, space explorations and skylore.
Astronomical Illustrations, Russell Kightley Media
Illustrations of accretion disks, classic T Tauri star, white dwarfs, magnetic phenomena.
We're undertaking the task of indexing the wealth of astronomical images available on the Internet. To use the service, you just have to go to the URL mentioned and type the name of the object you are looking for. If our database knows where an image of this object is located, you just have to click on the resulting link(s) to obtain a picture of it. We're currently indexing approximately 15,000 images and more are being added regularly.
Astronomical Images from the AAO
The images available here are low resolution scanned derivatives of over 100 AAO photographs.
Astronomical pictures and animations
At CRI Bordeaux, an Astronomy Server of pictures & animations. There is a mirror copy at Nice.
Each day we feature a new picture of our spectacular universe. Browse through our extensive annotated archive. Intended for all educational levels.
Astronomy - What's UP This Month
Want to know where, when, and how to find a planet? When's the next meteor shower? Where is the comet? These pages are updated monthly or as needed. Written for the beginner to intermediate.
Discusses common misconceptions about astronomy in the media and other sources. Includes narrative, sometimes humorous descriptions of misconceptions in astronomy with an explanation
In which we fall into a black hole on a real free fall orbit. All distortions of images are real, both general relativistic from the gravitational bending of light, and special relativistic from the near light speed orbit. After you are done dying at the central singularity of the black hole, feel free to explore more about the Schwarzschild geometry, about wormholes, and about the collapse of a black hole.
NASA JSC Digital Image Collection
NCSA Astronomy Digital Image Library
The purpose of the NCSA Astronomy Digital Image Library is to collect fully processed astronomical images in FITS format format and make them available to the research community and the general public via the World Wide Web. The collection will contain images from research observatories all over the world and taken at all wavebands.
Virtual trips to black holes and neutron stars
This page contains MPEG movies and GIFs highlighting the visual distortion effects an observer would see in the high gravity environment of a neutron star or black hole (Schwarzschild metric). It is based on a refereed paper by Robert J. Nemiroff that appeared in the American Journal of Physics and is intended for educational use. The hypertext reviews several relevant aspects of gravitational lensing.
American Astronomical Society (AAS)
Contains information on the Society, meeting schedules, meeting abstracts (in HTML), staff directory, the AAS Job Register and AASTeX
International Astronomical Union Home Page
Free Astronomy and Physics Software
Resource for free astronomy and physics software.
Astronomical Software & Documentation Service (ASDS)
The Astronomical Software and Documentation Service (ASDS) is a network service that allows you to find existing astronomical resources for solving your problem. ASDS started life as the Astronomical Software and Documentation Service, devoted entirely to astronomical software packages and their associated on-line documentation. Much code is rewritten these days, not because anyone has found a fundamentally better way to solve the problem, but because they simply don't know who has already done it, whether the code runs on the system they have available, or where to get it if it does. That is the problem that ASDS was intended to solve. The objectives of ASDS changed in 1998 when its scope was expanded to include astronomical observing sites and their associated telescope and instrument manuals, taken from a listing maintained by Liz Bryson (bryson@cfht.hawaii.edu). The service was renamed at this point.
A description of useful astronomy freeware and software field tested in the classroom with download links
Astrophysics Source Code Library
The Astrophysics Source Code Library (ASCL or ASCL.net) is a free, on-line library housing source codes of all sizes that are of interest to astrophysicists. All ASCL.net source codes have been used to generate results published in or submitted to a refereed journal.
This service provides links to archives of atomic data for astrophysics at the University of Kentucky and other sites accessible through the WWW. The ADfA page is regularly updated.
The atomic line list is a compilation of approximately 855,000 allowed, intercombination and forbidden atomic transitions with wavelengths in the range from 0.5 Å to 1000 µm. Its primary intention is to allow the identification of observed atomic absorption or emission features. The list is nearly complete for all ionization stages of all elements up to zinc. Transition probabilities are available for nearly 14% of the lines; they are mostly derived from Opacity Project data.
Create your own Stellar Population
This form allows users to cook up arbitrary combinations of single-burst stellar population ages and metallicities. A grid of models is automatically consulted and properties of the requested population (integrated colors, M/L ratios, SBF magnitudes, and line strengths) are immediately returned. Optionally, the entire SED (spectral energy distribution) is sent to the user in a file.
The IDL Astronomy Users Library is a central repository for general purpose astronomy procedures written in the commercial language IDL. The Library is not meant to be an integrated package, but rather is a collection of procedures from which users can pick and choose (and possibly modify) for their own use.
Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF)
IRAF is the "Image Reduction and Analysis Facility". The main IRAF distribution includes a good selection of programs for general image processing and graphics, plus a large number of programs for the reduction and analysis of optical and IR astronomy data (the "noao" packages). Other external or layered packages are available for applications such as data acquisition or handling data from other observatories and wavelength regimes such as the Hubble Space Telescope (optical), EUVE (extreme ultra-violet), or ROSAT and AXAF (X-ray). These external packages are distributed separately from the main IRAF distribution but can be easily installed. The IRAF system also includes a complete programming environment for scientific applications, which includes a programmable Command Language scripting facility, the IMFORT Fortran/C programming interface, and the full SPP/VOS programming environment in which the portable IRAF system and all applications are written